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Terms and Conditions

Effective Date: July 27, 2026

Welcome to Coffee Circuit. By creating an account or using this platform, you agree to these Terms and Conditions.

1. Purpose of the Platform

Coffee Circuit is a non-commercial online platform designed to facilitate communication and information sharing among participants in the coffee sector, including producers, cooperatives, buyers, exporters, roasters, researchers, and other stakeholders.

The platform does not provide commercial transaction services, payment processing, or guarantees regarding any interactions between users.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years of age or have the legal capacity to enter into these Terms under the laws of your country.

You are responsible for ensuring that the information you provide is accurate and kept reasonably up to date.

3. User Accounts

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials.

You agree not to impersonate another person or organization or create accounts using false information.

Platform administrators reserve the right to suspend or remove accounts that violate these Terms or misuse the platform.

4. Information You Share

By using the platform, you understand that information you voluntarily enter into your profile or share through platform features may be visible to other registered users.

This may include information such as:

• Name or preferred display name
• Organization or farm
• Country or region
• Coffee production or purchasing activities
• Contact information that you choose to share
• Posts, comments, messages, and other content you voluntarily publish

You should only share information that you are comfortable making available to other registered users of the platform.

5. Research Use of Platform Data

This platform is operated as part of academic research.

By using the platform, you consent to the collection and analysis of information generated through your use of the platform, including:

• Profile information you provide
• Content you post
• Interactions with other users
• Platform activity and usage patterns
• Responses to surveys or questionnaires conducted through the platform

This information will be used solely for academic research, platform improvement, and scientific analysis.

Research findings may be published in academic articles, reports, presentations, or other scholarly outputs. However:

• Individual users will never be publicly identified without their explicit permission.
• Personally identifiable information will not be included in research publications.
• Results will normally be presented in aggregated or anonymized form.

6. Privacy and Data Sharing

The platform administrators will not sell your personal information.

Your data will not be shared with advertisers, marketers, or commercial organizations.

Your information will only be accessible to:

• Other registered users, where you have chosen to make information visible through the platform.
• Authorized platform administrators responsible for operating and maintaining the platform.
• Members of the research team conducting the academic research associated with the platform.

Data may be disclosed if required by applicable law or legal process.

7. Intellectual Property

You retain ownership of the content that you create and upload.

By posting content on the platform, you grant Coffee Circuit a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to store, display, reproduce, and use that content solely for:

• Operating the platform;
• Facilitating communication between users;
• Conducting academic research; and
• Producing anonymized research outputs.

8. Acceptable Use

Users agree not to:

• Upload unlawful or fraudulent content.
• Harass, threaten, or abuse other users.
• Upload malicious software or attempt to interfere with the operation of the platform.
• Use the platform for spam or unsolicited advertising.
• Collect personal information about other users without their consent.

Platform administrators may remove content or suspend accounts that violate these rules.

9. No Commercial Transactions

The platform is intended for networking, communication, and information sharing.

Any commercial arrangements that users independently enter into are solely between those users.

The platform assumes no responsibility for negotiations, agreements, payments, deliveries, product quality, or disputes arising from relationships established through the platform.

10. Limitation of Liability

While reasonable efforts are made to maintain the platform, no guarantee is made that it will always be available, secure, or error-free.

The platform is provided "as is" without warranties of any kind.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, the platform administrators are not liable for losses arising from the use of the platform or interactions between users.

11. Account Deletion

You may request deletion of your account at any time by contacting the platform administrators.

Deleting your account will remove your profile from active use. Research data already collected prior to deletion may continue to be retained and used in anonymized form for ongoing or completed academic research, unless applicable law or approved research protocols require otherwise.

12. Changes to These Terms

These Terms may be updated from time to time.

Material changes will be communicated through the platform. Continued use of the platform after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

13. Contact

If you have questions regarding these Terms, your data, or the research associated with the platform, please contact:

Goizueta Business School, Emory University
Business & Society Institute
gbsinfo@emory.edu
United States of America

14. Acceptance

By creating an account and using the platform, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to these Terms and Conditions.

Privacy Policy

Effective Date: July 27, 2026

1. Introduction

Coffee Circuit is operated by the Goizueta Business School of Emory University, through the Business & Society Institute, as part of an academic research project. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, how it is protected, and your rights regarding your information.

By using the platform, you acknowledge that you have read this Privacy Policy.

2. Information We Collect

We may collect information that you voluntarily provide, including:

• Your name or preferred display name
• Email address
• Organization, cooperative, or farm
• Country, region, and coffee sector role
• Profile information
• Photographs or other media you choose to upload
• Messages, comments, posts, and other content you submit
• Responses to surveys or questionnaires

We also automatically collect certain technical information, including:

• Login dates and times
• General usage activity within the platform
• Device and browser information
• IP address
• Error logs necessary to maintain platform security and functionality

3. How We Use Your Information

Your information is used to:

• Operate and improve the platform;
• Enable communication among registered users;
• Maintain platform security;
• Conduct academic research;
• Produce scientific publications, presentations, reports, and educational materials based on aggregated or anonymized data.

We do not use your information for advertising or commercial marketing.

4. Research Data

Activity on the platform may be analyzed as part of academic research. Researchers may study:

• User interactions
• Participation patterns
• Shared information
• Network characteristics
• Discussion topics
• Platform usage statistics

Research results will normally be reported only in aggregated or anonymized form. No personally identifiable information will be intentionally published without your separate written permission.

5. Sharing of Information

We do not sell your personal information. We do not share your personal information with advertisers, data brokers, or commercial organizations.

Information may only be accessed by:

• Other registered users according to your profile and privacy settings;
• Authorized platform administrators;
• Members of the approved research team;
• University officials responsible for research oversight where necessary.

6. Data Security

Reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards are used to protect your information. However, no online system can guarantee absolute security. While we make reasonable efforts to protect your information, transmission and storage of data always involve some level of risk.

7. Data Retention

Information will be retained for as long as reasonably necessary to:

• Operate the platform;
• Complete the associated research project;
• Meet legal, institutional, or funding requirements.

Research datasets may be retained after accounts are deleted if they have been anonymized or de-identified.

8. Your Choices

You may:

• Update your profile information;
• Remove information that you have posted;
• Request deletion of your account;
• Contact the research team regarding questions about your information.

Deletion of your account will not necessarily remove information already incorporated into anonymized research datasets.

9. International Users

Because this platform is operated by a United States university, information may be stored and processed on servers located in the United States or other countries where authorized service providers operate. Users understand that data protection laws may differ from those in their country of residence.

10. Children's Privacy

This platform is intended only for individuals who are at least 18 years old.

11. Contact

Questions regarding this Privacy Policy may be directed to:

Principal Investigator: Dr. Peter Roberts
Department: Goizueta Business School
University: Emory University
Email: peter.roberts@emory.edu